|
The Believe it or Nots
Emily: So after nearly 5 years, the Believe it or Nots (BIONs) are calling it quits?
Greg: It's not a "creative differences" thing or anything like that. It's not that we don't get along anymore. It's just that Mike (guitar/vocals) is moving to Iowa to go to school, and that makes band practices a little harder to schedule. It's really kinda unfortunate that it's happening now, as it seems like we're really gaining a lot of people's interest, but it's also good to go out on a high note, so I guess that's what we're doing.
Emily: Did you ever consider finding a new guitarist and continuing without Mike?
Greg: For about a thousand-millionth of a nanosecond, I guess the idea may have popped into our heads. But we all knew that the answer was immediately "no". Did we want the band to go on? Yes. Did we want it with anyone else in it? No. Mike is extremely talented; he's a great songwriter, and has a really beautifully distinct voice. No one else could do that justice. The Believe It Or Nots are not one of those bands that could go through lineups or members and still be the same thing, especially to change the sorta heart and soul of the band (Mike). No one is replaceable in this band.
John: I never considered it myself because Mike is the heart of the band. He's our main songwriter and vocalist, so he's irreplaceable. The BIONs would not be the BIONs with someone else taking his place.
Emily: Since the band formed in 1995, the BIONs haven't lost any of its original members. How have you stuck together for so long?
John: Because we're all friends. And at times I've felt like the other guys were part of my family.
Greg: I've been in the band since late 96/early 97, I think? I think it's just one of those things that boils down to who the people involved are. We're all really different people, but we truly are friends. We've had our share of frustrating times, but I think we all just genuinely had a deep desire to create music together. We work in different ways, but we all work together, avoiding ego stuff and just trying to have as much fun as possible while still being a "professional" band. We always had dreams, but we never were hellbent on accomplishing what we did. I think as long as you are in it to have a good time, have a positive attitude about things, and are genuinely friends, bands can stay together for a really long time.
Emily: BIONs shows are notorious for being high-energy and fun. But what's up with the dancing cow that was spotted on stage with you at Day on the Hill and Spiritfest?
Greg: His name is Chad Saddoris. He's one of the funniest people that I know, and he's the kind of person that will actually act out upon his funny instincts. So, he had done some sort of report for a class where he went to class wearing that cow suit, and I thought it was hilarious. Basically, the dancing cow idea came out of us thinking "Wow, we've got this opportunity to be seen by a ton of people [at Day on the Hill]. What's the most surreal thing we could do?" The Dancing Cow sorta ended up being the stupidest thing we could do. It was really funny, because every article I read about Day On The Hill mentioned the Dancing Cow numerous times, and the University Daily Kansan even called Chad this year to see if the Dancing Cow would be back at Day On The Hill and did a little story about it.
So, we were like "OK, this [Spiritfest] is our last show. We want to go out with a blast." We couldn't really afford the pyrotechnics that we were hoping to get, but we still wanted to entertain the folks, give a little something back to the kids and all. So, it was a natural choice to have the Dancing Cow be back in effect. He inspired us to shake our butts more on stage and kept the crowd awake. That guy is a natural entertainer and I'm sure it won't be the last time we see him on a stage. Last I heard, he's branching out into weddings and children's parties. You can e-mail us to get his booking info.
Emily: Tell us about some of your best memories with the BIONs. What is the most outrageous thing that ever happened at a show?
Greg: I'd say Spiritfest was pretty amazing/outrageous, as was Day On The Hill. The Dancing Cow is really hard to beat as far as outrageous goes. There were many shows that ended up with bloody fingers, broken strings, and the Granada show ended with two broken guitars. John finished a show with kleenex stuffed up his nose, as he had a bloody nose at the end of the Poster Children show. We played a skate park in Wichita that was pretty rad, where kids were skating all around while we played. The Believe It Or Nots vs. The Anniversary was also a huge success (a free, early, all ages show we did on the patio of the Replay, where we battled The Anniversary). We ended up winning, only because we pulled out an AC/DC cover ("You Shook Me All Night Long"). Every show was basically a good memory, full of friends and good music (by our friends' bands) and a nice vibe.
John: My best memory is playing this house party last Halloween and Mike dressed up as the bearded lady, Brad dressed up in this black skirt, Greg was Batman, and I was supposed to be a grandma. It was the most fun show that I've ever played because everyone there was blasted and just having a damn good time. I really like playing parties because they're always a drunken good time and they're more intimate than big shows. I was hoping to play our last show at a house party in Lawrence, but nothing panned out.
As far as crazy, I don't have an answer for that. we did once play at a skating rink in some small town I can't remember 30 minutes south of Lawrence. I had a hard time playing because I was too busy laughing at all of our friends skating and falling down. Unfortunately the owners didn't want to have any more bands play there after us.
Emily: What are the future plans for all the members?
John: Mike is going to Europe in the beginning of October for 1 1/2 months to travel, and then he's moving to Iowa for awhile and then eventually to New York. Brad is working and going to school to further his Chinese language skills so he can go back to China next year. As for myself, I don't know. I'm graduating in a year, so I don't know if I want to start something else knowing that there would be a May termination. So we'll see...
Greg: Well, last week I tried out for the Hillary Step, and just found out that it's official - I'm joining the band. I'm pretty excited about it.
Emily: So are the BIONs officially through at this point, or is there a possibility that we might see a BIONs reunion tour in a few years?
Greg: Oh, geez...I'm not really the one who makes that decision. I'd be up for it, but who knows what time will bring. I'd say officially through right now, though. The chances of a reunion are pretty slim to none at this point.
Emily: Say it did happen... who would this reunion tour be with? You can choose any other bands and tour anywhere! Give us your wildest fantasies.
Greg: I would love to play with Rocket From The Crypt (my favorite band in the world), who we were actually booked to open up for in Lawrence a couple years ago, but it fell through the day after we booked it. I would love to play with a bunch of high energy, show-y bands...RFTC, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, The Who, Jawbreaker, Proudentall, The Beatles (bring John Lennon back to life), The Flaming Lips, The Anniversary, Prince (back when he was still known as Prince), Reflector, Public Enemy, Weezer, Kill Creek, Superdrag, and have James Brown and Issac Hayes headline the whole thing, with televangelist Robert Tilton MC'ing and whooping up the crowd. And it'd have to be somewhere exotic, like Bora Bora. Huge pyrotechnics for everyone. We'd have exploding light up dragons and a giant inflatable Mike Angeletti doll, and some sort of 3-d lazer show while we played. Then the stage would explode and have to be rebuilt. That's my idea of a good time. Oh, and free Josta soda for everyone.
John: I would want to play with the Pixies on their reunion tour at a house party.
Emily: Who has been especially supportive to the BIONs over the years?
Greg: All of our friends, all of our friends with bands (Proudentall, The Anniversary, Kill Creek, Reflector, Everest, Filthy Jim, the ElectronVolts, Ultimate Fakebook, The Tangents, The Hefners) have all been so much fun to be around and play with, and have helped us out immeasurably. Jacki Becker really helped us out a lot, giving us really great shows and just being nice to us. The Replay was also really cool, helping us book shows. We had a lot of really fun shows at the Replay. John Orcutt and Matt Dunehoo (both formerly of KU's SUA) for their undying support of our band. Jeff Petterson did his best to play us and the 2 songs we had up at the Lazer for a long, long time. KJHK has always been supportive of us...especially Tom Humphrey when he was hosting Plow The Fields. He had us play live in the studio quite a few times. Sid Sowder (of Urinine Records) has been a huge help to us, putting out a CD of a band who was breaking up, and coming out to Lawrence for all of our shows. He's been a great friend and has helped us so much.
Emily: Do you have any advice for 'young' bands just starting out in KC?
Greg: I don't want to sound like an old "Mr. Know It All" or condescending at all with "advice", but I do have some suggestions:
*Play everywhere you can. Don't be picky.
*Play with any band that you can. Some people hate to see shows where every band sounds different, but for me, it's a refreshing change to see four bands that sound nothing alike.
*Don't let money become an issue. Play music because you love it, not because you want a paycheck. Once money and music are involved, it's hard to stay completely pure in your desires, and stay honest as a musician. If you're starting a band, expect to lose money. And when you
lose money, do it with a smile on your face. If you're putting your heart into what you're doing, you'll make your investment back in getting to do what you love.
*Keep a good attitude, and don't let egos get in the way of making music. Again, make music because you feel it in you, because you love it, not because you want to make money or be famous. Be friends with the people you are in a band with.
*Promote your band without kissing ass. There's a fine line, but it can be done.
*More than anything, I'd just tell people to invest themselves completely in making music. Be as honest and pure and emotional as possible in the music making process. I honesty believe what you invest into a song or band or live show is what makes something worthwhile, and it's rewarding to everyone that's partaking in listening or watching the music if you've invested a lot. People appreciate honest energy. Never "go through the motions". If you're up on a stage, rock like you'll never be on a stage again. Enjoy it as much as you can, because music can be the most rewarding experience you'll ever have.
Emily: If you had it to do all over again, what would you do differently?
Greg: Absolutely nothing - I enjoyed every second of the experience, and I have no regrets.
|